Chapter 36
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
DEIDRE
T he first day after the horrific Valentine’s Day party, I’m either in bed or the hot tub, trying to sweat out the achy, yuckiness that is in my body.
The few days following, I’m either staring at my computer screen, looking at all of the coding for Flirt, sifting through the contract between me and Victoria, or scouring the internet for information.
I swear I didn’t imagine my conversation with Rox at the party.
I need to figure out what she meant when she said to take care of myself and to see if I can get out of my contract with Victoria.
Double-checking the news, I’m able to verify that Rox was at the event.
I need to just try to remember if I had spoken with her, and if so, what she actually warned me about and why.
Valentine’s Day is here, and I manage to get into the office of the lawyer who Victoria had present when I signed the contract.
Even though the lazy, fat man didn’t have a single person in his office other than the lady at the front desk and a paralegal, he takes forever to see me.
Once I get a few minutes of his time, he practically brushes me off.
Frustrated, I visit my lawyer, whom I’ve had on retainer, and he tells me that there’s no way of getting out of the contract without any repercussions. Victoria can sue and ruin me if I’m caught breaking the agreement. So, ultimately—I’m fucked!
“You’re home early,” Mandy says oddly, almost sounding out of breath.
“Yeah. Traffic wasn’t as bad coming back from the lawyer.”
“Any luck?” she asks timidly.
“Nope,” I confirm. “I’m fucked. Well…yeah, I’m fucked. Victoria can sue if I’m caught in breach of the contract. Happy fucking Valentine’s Day to me.”
“Seriously? You think she’d do that?”
“I wouldn’t put it past her,” I state, grabbing an opened wine bottle from the fridge and start drinking directly out of it. “Look at the luck she’s had this past year with some of her other clients…and with me as her only client…yes.”
“Fuck,” Mandy sighs.
“Yeah. I chug more of the bubbly liquid. “Like I said…I’m fucked.”
“Well, it’s better to be figuratively fucked than literally right now by Victoria,” she giggles.
“Yeah, but I could use a good fuck…not like that’s going to happen.”
“I still think you should call him,” she says.
“I told you, I need to figure this out on my own, Mandy. I can’t have Luke swooping in to fix things. I wouldn’t mind him swooping in to fuck me right now, but you and I know that’s not going to happen.” I raise the bottle to my lips.
“You sure about that?” a familiar male voice asks.
My head jerks to the left as wine spurts from my nose. “Luke? What the fuck are you doing here? Mandy?”
“You’re welcome,” Mandy gloats.
“Mandy called me.”
“He needed to know, Dei,” she says. “Don’t be mad at Luke for me intervening.”
I continue to wipe the moisture from my face.
“Hi,” Luke greets, standing in front of me, holding my face.
“Hi,” I mutter.
“Mandy filled me in.”
“She shouldn’t have. It’s a breach of the contract.”
“I’m glad she did. We’ll figure this out. I’m not going to let Victoria come between us. If we have to keep our relationship quiet…then fine. You’re worth it.”
“Luke,” I whine.
His lips lower to mine. My arms slide up his body, allowing my fingers to knot in his hair. Tears of joy roll down my cheeks, happy to see him.
“Hey,” he soothes. “Don’t cry.”
I try to smile and nod, but all I focus on is the snot that is running from my nose.
Mandy hands me a tissue as she stays seated on the barstool.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” she replies. “For all of it.”
I giggle nervously.
“Now, go fuck the shit out of each other. We’ve got plenty of time to talk and figure this shit out,” she directs.
“Shh,” Luke says. “You’ll ruin the surprise.”
“Surprise? What surprise?” I ask.
“You’ll see,” Mandy declares with her voice going up an octave. “I’ll be out if you need me. You two have fun!”
“Where are you going? I thought we had plans.”
“Those plans were fake plans once Luke and I talked,” she admits. “I have real plans.”
“What?!” I gulp with fake hurt feelings.
Mandy’s grin widens. “Trust me…with what he has planned, you don’t want me around.”
“What do you have planned?” I ask nervously excited.
Luke’s arms tighten around me. “That all depends on you.”
“How?”
“If you’ll take him back,” Mandy states cheerfully, heading toward the front door. “I’m out and won’t see you until tomorrow. You two don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”
“That’s not saying much,” I goad.
“I know.” Mandy winks. “If you end up in my room, just make sure you change the sheets.”
“Ew,” I scoff.
Mandy shrugs. “What?”
“Please tell me you’ve never had sex on my bed?”
“No,” Mandy replies in a tone that sounds questionable.
“ No , as in you won’t tell me, or no you didn’t do it?” I ask.
Mandy bites back a smile.
“Ew! Seriously?” I whine.
“I washed the sheets after,” she says nonchalantly.
“What!”
The faint sound of Luke chuckling is heard, but my gaze stays fixed on my roommate. “With whom and in this house?”
“Not this house,” Mandy answers. “I don’t remember his name. It was at the old apartment.”
“Ew! Gross!” I shiver at the thought.
“You two have fun,” Mandy instructs, leaving before I get the chance to say anything else.
“Hey, sexy,” Luke calls, bringing me back to the moment.
“Hey. I’m sorry. I should have?—”
“Don’t,” he says, cutting me off with a kiss.
God, does it feel good to hold him, kiss him, and smell him. I’ve got to figure out how we don’t have to hide our relationship for the next two and a half years.
Luke coaxes my body to follow him, most likely leading me to my bedroom. I comply until Mandy’s words ring in my head right when we make it to the doorway.
“What’s wrong?”
“We’re not having sex in there,” I announce.
“Is it that time of the month? I don’t care.”
“No, it’s not that time of the month, and ew, that’s gross,” I retort.
“It’s not gross. It’s a part of you.”
“If you have any weird fetishes like peeing and pooping on each other, tell me now,” I request. “Cause that shit is just weird.”
“Those aren’t my fetish.”
“Good,” I sigh, kissing him again. “Wait. What?”
“What?”
“You said those aren’t my fetish, as if you have one or multiple,” I say nervously.
He laughs. “I don’t know.”
“I’m not kidding.”
“Me, too. I don’t know if I have any fetishes other than just you,” he replies.
I eye Luke for a moment.
“You’d stop loving me if I had a fetish?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug, weirded out that we’re having this conversation. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?” Luke repeats. “You told me that you love me. Now you’re telling me that you wouldn’t love or be with me if I have a fetish?”
“I didn’t say I love you.”
“Yeah, you did,” Luke says with a smirk. “The night of our?—”
My head drops a little. “You heard me.”
He cups my face. “I regret letting you walk out that door as soon as it closed behind you.”
“Why didn’t you come after me?”
“I felt like a fool,” he admits. “I wasn't sure if you’d forgive me. And I wasn’t sure how to beg and grovel. My dad?—”
“Your dad what?” I say, cutting him off. “Does he know?”
Luke winces.
“Fuck,” I huff. “No one can know. How long has he known?”
“A while,” Luke shares timidly.
“As in?”
Luke looks down. “Since the summer.”
“What?!” I shriek.
“He guessed,” Luke claims.
“How could he guess ?”